Child killer's minimum jail term increased

LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) A teenager jailed for the ''chilling'' murder of an 11-year-old cystic fibrosis sufferer had his minimum sentence raised from 12 to 15 years today.

The Court of Appeal judges increased Michael Hamer's jail term after his victim's family complained the original sentence was too lenient.

Hamer, 15, battered Joe Geeling about the head with a frying pan, stabbed him 16 times and then dumped his body in a wooded gully in March last year.

Hamer pleaded guilty to murder at Manchester Crown Court and received a minimum 12-year sentence before he can apply for parole. Geeling's parents, Tom and Gwen, said that was not long enough.

Senior judge, Sir Igor Judge, raised the sentence, saying 12 years was ''unduly lenient''.

''This murder involved the death of a physically vulnerable child,'' he said. ''The Crown accepts that the killing itself was not premeditated, but nevertheless, the offender targeted Joe at least in part because he was vulnerable.'' At his trial, the jury heard how Hamer lured his younger schoolmate to his house with a fake letter from school staff saying he was to act as the 11-year-old's mentor.

Prosecutors said Hamer may have made a sexual approach to Geeling before attacking him.

Police described the murder as ''cold, premeditated and chilling''.

In a tribute read out in court, Tom Geeling said his son was a ''brave and kind-hearted little boy who had many friends and loved playing''.

Reuters SSC GC1601